The second annual Next Level Sports (NLS) Conference returned to the Intuit Dome to explore the globalization of sports, LA28, and the business acumen of the modern athlete. Cohosted by USC Marshall School of Business and USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, the event gathered industry leaders such as Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, Maria Sharapova, International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, and Casey Wasserman, chairperson and president of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (LA28) for discussions on the present and future of the ever-shifting sports industry.

Annenberg Dean Willow Bay, Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett, and Bloomberg Chief Correspondent Jason Kelly opened the event by acknowledging there was no better place for these wide-ranging conversations than the City of Angels — home to 12 major professional sports teams and the heart of the entertainment industry.

“L.A. is the perfect stage in this conversation,” Dean Bay said in her introductory remarks. “It is a place where sports, entertainment, culture, technology investment, and entrepreneurship collide like nowhere else.”

Athletes in Business

From brand ownership to investments to entrepreneurship, conversations focused on how players are finding new ways to achieve success beyond the locker room and create meaningful business impact.

Chris Paul, the presumptive NBA hall-of-famer who recently returned to the Los Angeles Clippers for his second stint with the team, set the tone for the entire event when he reflected on athletes’ growing agency in their own business decisions.

“Athletes are taking their voice back, having ownership and not just saying ‘give me this check,’” Paul said. “They want to be able to tell their stories and not let someone else do it for them.”

One such athlete is former tennis player Maria Sharapova, the five-time champion and 2025 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Like Paul, Sharapova is using her platform and access as an athlete to find new entrepreneurial opportunities and investments without sacrificing societal impact and human connections.

“I’ve never been an investor that just goes into something because that’s what everyone is doing. I always like to take a step back, listen, learn, understand,” Sharapova said. “Is this an area that I can help contribute in? Are these the people that I want to work with for the next few years? … It’s not just about money.”

The significance of brand ownership and business management pervades the NFL where, according to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, players are taking greater responsibility for their off-field ventures and causes. As the NFL expands its presence in cities like London, Berlin, and Sao Paulo, Goodell said players have a rare opportunity to extend their global reach.

“You can’t underestimate how sophisticated players [are] … They understand the brand, they understand the importance of that and how to build that,” Goodell said. “To give them that opportunity to [expand their brand] on a global stage, I think they do get really excited.”

The Olympics Come to L.A.

With just under 1000 days until the beginning of LA28, the Games’ chairperson and president Casey Wasserman discussed the high stakes preparation ahead of the opening ceremonies. Between venues, travel, advertising, logistics, technological infrastructure, and, most of all, workforce, the massive endeavor will require a multibillion dollar budget and a scope eclipsing even the largest American events.

“The Olympics and Paralympics is the equivalent of producing 200 Super Bowls in 30 days,” Wasserman said. “This will be the largest peacetime gathering in the history of the world. We’ll sell 15 million tickets, which is 15 seasons of Rams or Chargers football, five seasons of Dodger baseball — in 30 days in one city. And so, that is the challenge of the Olympics … The World Cup has a thousand athletes in 14 cities. We have 17,500 in one city.”

Despite the obstacles, Wasserman said Los Angeles is uniquely suited to hosting the Games and that the ensuing economic windfall can support the city for decades to come.

“I believe L.A. is one of the three most important cities in the world.” Wasserman said. “You take the creativity and the innovation and the culture that exists here and you share that with the world, then we will be able to make the city better for the next 30 years.”

In just a few short years, LA28 will ramp up its staff from zero in 2017 to hundreds by January and 4,000 by the opening ceremonies with 50,000 additional volunteers. When asked by Dean Bay when Trojan students in the room should start applying, Wasserman gave a clear answer: “Now.”

Student Opportunities

For student attendees, the conference offered networking opportunities with sports, business, and media professionals, while panels provided rich insights into future innovations. From the startup culture of major organizations like the Golden State Valkyries to the integration of artificial intelligence into on-field data analysis, the event explored the multi-faceted avenues of the dynamic industry.

“It’s an amazing opportunity, especially for students to make connections within the sports industry,” said Elijah Patterson, a fourth-year business administration major at USC Marshall. “USC has a lot of those opportunities at the school in general, but to have a whole conference where you bring in industry leaders, speakers, and different people in that area to directly connect with students is just amazing.

Dean Garrett echoed Patterson in his closing remarks, reflecting on USC’s unique role in the world of sports, business, technology, and media.

“Only at USC would you get the head of LA28, the commissioner of the National Football League, and Vibe Check all in one afternoon,” Garrett said. “That’s a pretty impressive afternoon.”

Even Roger Goodell took time to offer thoughtful advice to USC students.

“I was always guided by something that I think still is true today, which is if you’re not challenged and you’re not learning a new job, then it’s time to look around a little bit,” Goodell said. “You have to grow. You have to continue to find those opportunities … I was fortunate — people gave me that opportunity and I’m sure that’s why I sit here as commissioner today. But I think the same is true for every young person: Run to the fire. There's nothing like hard work and believing in yourself.”